Sales of alcohol leapt 18 per cent last month, figures showed, as Britons’ thirst for booze returned after Dry January.
Consumers bought 28 per cent more wine and 16 per cent more beer and lager, according to Kantar, and red wine was particularly popular, with eight million more bottles bought this month than in January.
Elsewhere, grocery price inflation has fallen to a two-year low as fierce competition among supermarkets offset the cost of disruption to Red Sea shipping routes.
Supermarket prices were 5.3 per cent higher than a year ago in February, the lowest rate since March 2022 and a decrease marking the lowest rate since March 2022 and a significant drop from January’s 6.8 per cent.
In an indication of the intensifying competition between retailers, Morrison’s became the latest retailer to launch a price match scheme with Aldi and Lidl, after Asda made the move in January.
Promotions increased again over the month after a post-Christmas slowdown, and consumers spent £586 million more on them than in February last year.
However, Britons still found room within their budgets to celebrate Valentine’s Day, with spending on steak and boxed chocolate up by 12 per cent and 16 per cent compared with last year.
Tom Steel, strategic insight director at Kantar, said: “Things are looking up for shoppers this February.
“Consumers have been navigating a grocery inflation rate of more than four per cent for two years now, so this latest easing of price rises is especially welcome.
“Though there’s been lots of discussion about the impact the Red Sea shipping crisis might have on the cost of goods, supermarkets have been pulling out all the stops to keep prices down and help people manage their budgets.”
Lidl was the fastest growing supermarket for the sixth month running with sales up by 10.9 per cent over the 12 weeks to February 18.
Fellow discounter Aldi also grew ahead of the market, boosting sales by 5.7 per cent and maintaining its 9.4 per cent share.
Sainsbury’s and Tesco increased their share of the market with sales up 7.6 per cent and 6.2 per cent respectively.
